


Don't go where I can't follow

by Fnuggi



Series: Written in the Stars [1]
Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Catherine is a mess, F/M, Feelings, Hurt/Comfort, Liam is the best bf in two galaxies, Spoilers for Hunting the Archon, lots of hugging, unbetaed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-25
Updated: 2017-05-25
Packaged: 2018-11-04 23:07:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11000910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fnuggi/pseuds/Fnuggi
Summary: I the aftermath of the mission aboard the Archon's ship, Liam and Catherine talk.





	Don't go where I can't follow

**Author's Note:**

> I've fallen head over heels for this ship and I can't believe it took me two months to actually write something for it.
> 
> This fic takes place immediately following the events of Hunting the Archon. 
> 
> Here's a reference for Catherine's appearance, in case you want to know what she actually looks like: http://catryderz.tumblr.com/post/160010191892

Liam was angry, which was a rare thing for him. Sure, he’d get annoyed, but he could count the number of time he’s been well and truly pissed off on one hand. But what Catherine had done aboard the Archon’s ship…

It had scared Liam more than he had thought anything could.

He’d had a bad feeling about the mission from the beginning and it had only gotten worse when Catherine had told him that he wasn’t going to be part of the team that would be boarding the Archon’s ship.

Liam had known better than to argue with Catherine about it, though. Not only would it have been unprofessional to do it in front of the rest of the crew, but he also knew that he wouldn’t be able to change her mind.

His anger was, however, replaced with worry when he stepped into Catherine’s quarters. She was sitting with her back against the end of the bed, her arms wrapped around her knees. It struck Liam then, exactly how young she was. Granted, he wasn't much older himself, but he was not the one who had to bear the responsibility of finding everyone on the Hyperion a new home.

"Catherine…” Suddenly, Liam wasn't sure how to react. Catherine always seemed to hold it together so well, so to see her like this was unsettling, to say the least. Of course, rationally, Liam knew that she was just as human as the rest of them and it was really a wonder she hadn't broken down before now.

"Liam, I didn't see you there" Catherine rubbed her eyes, trying to remove the signs that she had been crying. But Liam could still see the redness around her eyes. That was enough to spur him into action. He moved across the room and sat down next to her.

"Hey, it's okay" He pulled her into a sideways hug. She tensed against him, as if she wasn't used to physical contact like this, but after a moment, she relaxed again.

"Wanna tell me what's going on?" Some part of Liam's brain told him he should still be angry with her for the stunt she had pulled, but he couldn't bring himself to be when she was in this state. The silence between them lasted a few long moments while Catherine tried to decide if she did want to talk about it.

"He was in my head..." Catherine started. "The Archon did something to me when he captured us. I could feel him in my mind" She shuddered at the memory and it caused Liam's grip on her shoulder to tighten ever so slightly. Once more, he felt dread pool in his gut, but he pushed it aside.

This wasn't about him. 

"He did something... I'm not sure exactly what it was, but... he knows about Christopher" Catherine sniffled at this and Liam could see fresh tears make their way down her cheeks. 

"Hey, it's going to be alright" Liam said, but Catherine wasn't listening. Instead, she got up from where she had been sitting, and walked over to her desk. It was only then, that Liam spotted the helmet lying on it.

He sucked in a breath.

It was her dad's.

Catherine braced herself against the edge of the desk, looking down at the helmet. There was a moment of silence before she spoke.

"Dad would have known what to do. He'd have been able to save them all..." Liam got up and walked over to her.

"You don't know that" He said firmly, but not unkindly.

"He always seemed to have all the answers" Catherine said. "If he said something was a certain way, it just was. He wouldn't accept anything else"

For once, Liam stayed quiet. He was almost completely certain that Catherine hadn't spoken to anyone about her dad's death since it had happened and if he was being completely honest, he was surprised it had taken her this long to crack.

"I never wanted to be the pathfinder. It should have been Cora, not me" Catherine continued.

"Hey, look at me..." Liam brought his hand up to cup her face. "Look at everything you've done since becoming pathfinder. Yeah, it hasn't been easy, but there's so many people out there who owes you so much." Catherine shook her head slowly, as if she couldn't believe what he was saying.

"It's true" Liam continued. "You may not see it yourself, but it is. It's thanks to you that we were able to establish an outpost on Eos in the first place and you're out there, fighting the kett every single day" Liam paused for a moment.

"I just don't understand why dad made me pathfinder instead of Cora" Catherine whispered. When she leaned into his hand, a small smile formed on Liam's face.

"We'll never know that" Liam said, a hint of sadness in his voice. It was so easy to forget how much Catherine had been through in such a short time. She had lost her dad and her brother was still in a coma with no hints that he was gonna wake up any time soon.

Add to that the fact that everyone in Heleus seemed to want a piece of the pathfinder and it really wasn't surprising that she hadn't had time to come up for air.

"But whatever his reason was, I'm sure he'd be proud of you" Liam said.

"I hope so. Growing up with him wasn't exactly easy" Catherine replied with a small smile. Liam hadn't known the elder Ryder very long, but from what he had seen in the shuttle bay before leaving for Habitat 7, it wasn't hard for him to imagine.

“Hey, come here” Before Catherine could protest, Liam had pulled her into a hug. “I know it may be hard to believe right now, but you’re doing good work”

Catherine hesitated at first, but after a moment, she wrapped her arms around Liam’s waist. He could feel the wetness on his shirt as she sobbed into his chest and all he could do was hold her as she cried

Liam had no idea how long they'd been standing there, when Catherine's sobs finally subsided.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

"Yeah" Catherine replied, pulling back slightly. "I- I think I needed that"

"That's what I'm here for" Liam replied.

"God, what did I ever do to deserve you?" Catherine asked with a small smile. "But what about you, how are you holding up?"

"I-" Liam started, but then stopped. "I'm not sure" He finally said. "I guess part of me is still angry that you made me stay behind"

"I'm sorry"

"Hey, don't be. You did what you thought was right" Liam said.

"Still, you had to listen to me die over the comm. That can't have been easy" Catherine countered, her voice soft.

And that, Liam realized, was the problem. He hated being powerless to help people around him, even if Catherine couldn't possibly have known that she would get trapped aboard the Archon's ship.

"It wasn't" Finally, the tears that had threatened to fall while he was walking to her quarters spilled over. "I thought I'd lost you"

“I.. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have-” Catherine began, but Liam cut her off.

“Don’t. I understand why you made the decision you did, but that didn’t make it any easier”

Catherine sighed. “Both mom and dad are gone and there’s no telling how long it’s going to take for Chris to wake up. I just… I couldn’t lose you too”

If anyone back in the Milky Way had told him he’d fall in love with someone as amazing as Catherine one day, he’d have told them they were crazy. Sure, he had dated in the past and he had had good partners, but looking back, all his past relationships paled in comparison to the one he had with Catherine.

“I love you” Those three word were enough to make Liam feel as if the wind had been knocked out of him. For a moment, he just stared at her and it was only when Catherine began to shuffle her feet that Liam’s brain caught up.

When it did, he pulled her back into another hug. “I love you too” He said with a soft smile. “And I’m here for you, no matter what you need”

“Stay?” Catherine asked and then added: “I… I really don’t want to be alone tonight” If Liam was completely honest, neither did he. 

“Alright” Normally, he would have made some sort of joke about his couch and having to abandon it, but as they changed into their sleepwear, he found he had no energy for it. He may not have been out in the field today, but the emotional turmoil of the day had completely drained him.

It was amazing how good Catherine felt as she lay with her back against his chest. His last thought before falling asleep was, that he must be the luckiest man in all of two galaxies to have her in his life.

**Author's Note:**

> So, the idea for this fic actually came to me because I didn't bring Liam on the mission and only realized afterwards that he'd had to stay behind and listen to Catherine die...
> 
> As always, feedback is greatly appreciated :)


End file.
